The Role of Financial Services in Society: A Multistakeholder Compact

The experiences of recent years have exposed a range of vulnerabilities in the financial system, calling into question the social value of financial institutions and core financial activities. Policymakers and financial institutions have come a long way in introducing important reforms, but much more work remains before the bonds of trust between the system and society can be repaired.

The Role of Financial Services in Society: A Multistakeholder Compact is a commitment by senior leaders, including Chief Executives and senior managers of financial institutions, regulators, economists and academics, and civil society representatives, to restore public trust in the financial system.

It lays the foundation for a long-term transformation of the financial industry by offering an explicit articulation of

The role of the financial system and its institutions in serving the economy and society at large

The characteristics of a financial services model that consistently delivers social value

A consensus framework for assessing whether financial institutions and systems are meeting the agreed purposes and delivering the desired societal value

Using this framework as a guide, the Compact calls upon financial institutions to redesign business and operating models, and policymakers and regulators to strive towards financial reform that enables the financial system to better meet the needs of society.

The Compact is the first public release of The Role of Financial Services in Society, a multi-year initiative spearheaded by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Oliver Wyman.